how the horse got its name

*very* interesting post on one of our favourite blogs: 'How the Horse Got its Name' at Arabic Gems.

Maa shaa Allaah, there's always something interesting and beneficial to read on that blog.

revert at 11, hafith at 15, Imaam at 19

Read the amazing life story of Umugwaneza Sulaiman, a contestant for the Dubai International Holy Qur’an Award:
from: ArabNews

...Even though he is only 19, this young man from Rwanda has survived a life of hardship. As a young child he survived the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. He still has horrific memories of hiding in forests from militias that were killing people. The rivers and roads they walked through were littered with bodies. Later on he lost his father and had to lead a harsh life in one of the poorest countries in the world.

Despite all his hardships, Sulaiman was determined to become a hafiz and was rewarded by becoming the first Rwandan to take part in the Dubai International Holy Qur’an Award competition. Sulaiman’s quest with the sacred book started when he converted to Islam at the age of 11.

“Even though my family were Catholics I was never interested in the church. The Azan from the mosque in my neighborhood fascinated me and I started attending classes there,” he said.

When asked if he faced any resistance from his family, Sulaiman said that his family had no issues with him becoming a Muslim, as Islam is a held in high regard in Rwanda after the 1994 genocide. His whole family followed him a few years later and converted to Islam.

Since the genocide, Rwandans have converted to Islam in huge numbers. Muslims now make up 14 percent of the 8.2 million people in Africa’s mostly Catholic nation, twice as many as before the killings began. The reason behind the conversions lies in the fact that Rwandan Muslims did not take part in the genocide and played a key role in the humanitarian efforts that followed.

Muslims have been honored by the national government for their roles in saving the lives regardless of their faith. Many people attribute the recent spread of Islam to these humanitarian acts.

It took years of dedicated work for Sulaiman to memorize the Qur’an. The lack of qualified teachers in Rwanda made him make up his mind to travel to Kenya as there are good Qur’anic schools there.
“I was 15 when my five friends and I decided to travel to Kenya to seek knowledge. Two of my friends were converts like me,” he said.
The six young men packed their bags and traveled to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to find the school. They enrolled themselves in a free boarding school, which accepts students from all over East Africa. There they studied under the tutelage of Qur’an scholars. It took Sulaiman two years to memorize the whole Qur’an.

Now back home in Rwanda, Sulaiman works as a part time Imam and Qur’an teacher to supplement his income while studying at the only Islamic seminar in Kigali. “Masha Allah, there are so many Muslims now in my country. We are working hard at teaching the Qur’an to the new generation of Muslim children,” he said.

After finishing his education, Sulaiman hopes to get a scholarship to study Islam. “We get Muslim scholars coming from Uganda to spread the word of Islam in Rwanda. I hope that through my knowledge of Islam I will be able to help spread peace in my country,” he said.

if you want to see a real live Qur'aan miracle

tune in to the international Qur'aan award on Dubai tv.

subhaanallaah, it is so moving to see Muslim youngsters from the world over ...from Congo to Nepal to Taiwan to Barbados to Kyrgyzstan...most of whose native language is not Arabic reciting the Qur'aan with flawless tajweed.

subhaanallaah! like the Qur'aan says:

innaa nazzalna ath-thikr
wa innaa lahu la haafithoon.

"indeed, we have revealed Ath-Thikr( The Reminder, Qur'aan)
And indeed we will preserve it."

sadaqa Allaah ul Azeem.

did you know?

The word "banana" comes from the Arabic word "banaan" meaning "finger" (b/z of it's shape).

for eg. the Qur'aan says:
أَيَحْسَبُ الْإِنسَانُ أَلَّن نَجْمَعَ عِظَامَهُ
Does man think that We cannot assemble his bones?

بَلَى قَادِرِينَ عَلَى أَن نُّسَوِّيَ بَنَانَهُ
Rather, We are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers

[Soorah Al-Qiyaamah]

The scientific name of the banana fruit: Musa paradisica (fruit of paradise) also comes from the Arabic موزة

subhaanallaah!

The purpose of language: a lesson in humility

My son and I sit across a table.
His Grade 2 Arabic Qira'ah wal Kitaabah (Reading and Writing) book is open in front of me as I dictate sentences from a lesson that he will be tested on tomorrow.
He writes swiftly, with dark sinuous strokes of his pencil upon the fresh sheet, unhesitating.
The lesson (comprising about 3 printed pages) is finished in around 15 minutes.
I pick up the sheet and read through it, trying to spot mistakes that could cost him precious darajaat (grades) tomorrow.
Nothing. maa shaa Allaah...laa quwwata illaa billaah.
He has it all down perfect, down to the sukoon over the silent alphabets.

It's my turn next.
I hand him the book and he dictates.
Slowly.
Waiting for me to catch up with the text.
The alphabets look clumsy to me, at one point I ask him to show me how to make a better looking ط, ,ى, and ه. I join and re-join the joining letters to make my handwriting look more-grown up and not the childish scrawl it really is. I ponder over which alphabets need sukoon. It takes considerably longer, and while there are no real mistakes, he mercilessly runs the red pencil over some of the alphabets to give them a better shape.

I am humbled, alhamdulillaah.

When I was growing up, I was considered something of a prodigy at home and school because of my language skills. I consistently got top marks in English all through my school years, won a number of handwriting and creative writing competitions, spelling bee trophies, was called on to draft everything from dear-john letters to acceptance speeches by friends and teachers.

I had a newspaper column in one of the mostly widely distributed regional 'papers when I was a teenager; I wrote and worked for some of the biggest national newspapers and magazines. I could make out the Latin origins and meanings of most muscle groups and other arcana that one is force-fed in medical school. I teach others language skills.

Yet, here I am struggling with a Grade 2 Arabic book.

It makes me think of the purpose of language: instilling humility.

The Qur'aan was revealed during a period when the Arabic language was at its pinnacle of development. Poets vied with one other in producing the most grammatically correct and intellectually intricate prose. Yet, nobody could measure up to the simplicity and majesty of the words recited by the unlettered Prophet صلىالله عليه وسلم ; inspite of the challenge:

وَإِن كُنتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِّمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَى عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُواْ بِسُورَةٍ مِّن مِّثْلِهِ وَادْعُواْ شُهَدَاءكُم مِّن دُونِ اللّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
فَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلُواْ وَلَن تَفْعَلُواْ فَاتَّقُواْ النَّارَ الَّتِي وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْكَافِرِينَ

“And if you are in doubt about what We have revealed to our slave, then bring one chapter like it and call upon all your witnesses/helpers, besides Allaah, if you are truthful. And if you cannot; and indeed you can not, then fear the Fire, the fuel of which is men and stones, prepared for the deniers (of the Truth).” [Soorah Al-Baqarah, 2 : 23]

The language of the Qur'aan was meant to humble people who considered themselves linguistically and intellectually 'accomplished'; who scoffed at the idea of an unlettered man producing sublime verses that rendered them speechless with awe.

Learning Arabic has been an incredibly humbling experience for me.

There are intricacies of grammar and speech which seem like unexplained mysteries to the uninitiated. There is the i'jaaz (inimitable nature) of the Qur'aan, that has been incorrectly understood to be grammatical errors in the Qur'aan; when it is really the transcendence of Divine language above human limitations and man-made rules -- including grammar.

I often wonder, if the purpose of language is really instilling humility, what explains the latent pride on acquiring/knowing a language in all its sacred and mundane intricacy?

Is it not an act of denial of having one's heart and mind opened?

Is it not a negation of: laa hawla wa laa quwwah; illaa billaah (there is no power and strength, except from Allaah)?

Sometimes, I'm glad Arabic is not my first language. It forces me to learn everything afresh; by driving home my enormous ignorance, it frees me from the unsightly burden of pride. alhamdulillaah.

the purpose of language

for: all the Rs, may you always speak/write that which pleases Allaah...Aameen.

***

On the evening of the Day of Sacrifice, Abu-R and I were walking uphill, back to the tents of Mina from a supermarket on the outskirts of the tent-city. There was a stiff breeze and some people had set up make-shift tea and coffee stalls on the sides of the road that consisted of a cooler full of hot water, a jar of coffee, tea-bags and a can of tinned milk. SR 1 per cup.

That's where we saw him: old, frail, bearded, bespectacled, ihraam-clad, a warm shawl slung over one shoulder and a cloth bag carrying pebbles in one hand, walking purposefully against the tide of people, looking completely lost.

He stopped by Abu-R and asked in Punjabi: Is the place where we go to stone the devil nearby?

The Jamaraat were directly at the other end from where we stood, he'd obviously walked a long way and looked exhausted. A cup of tea was called for. While crossing the road, I spoke the only Punjabi words that I could muster/remember: "Tusee ithon chalo.."

I'll never forget the change in his demeanour when he heard those words...he looked as if he was suddenly transported back to his village, sitting on a charpai, sipping ginger tea, watching the chulha smoke (where his daughters-in-law were cooking the evening meal) mix with the exhaust from the tractor that his son was parking in the vacant lot in front of his house...instead of being a lone traveller in a sea of strangers.

...that's when I realised that language has a purpose that goes beyond the spiritual release/emotional catharsis of self-expression; the narcissism of carefully crafted poetry/prose; beyond the boundaries of self-identity and cultural pride...language connects.
***

meanwhile, these are really beneficial posts on Teaching/Learning Arabic as a Second Language: 1 and 2

Did You Know....

Did you know...there are over 900 words in the Oxford English Dictionary which are Arabic in origin???

Here are some:
A
admiral - ami:r-al-bahr 'ruler of the seas' [amara =command]
adobe - al-toba 'the brick'
alchemy - al-ki:mi:a: - from Greek
alcohol - al-koh''l 'the kohl'
alcove - al-qobbah 'vault' [qubba =vault]
alfalfa - alfas,fas,ah 'fodder'
algebra - al-jebr 'reintegration' - [jabara =reunite]
algorithm - al-Khowarazmi 'the (man) of Khiva'
alkali - al-qaliy 'calx' [qalay =fry, roast]
almanac - (Andalucian Arabic) al-mana:kh, of uncertain origin
amber - `anbar 'ambergris'
antimony - al-íthmid 'antimony trisulphide'
apricot - al-burquq
arsenal - daar-as-sina`ah or house of making [sana`a =make]
artichoke - al-kharshu:f
assassin - h'ashsha:shi:n 'hashish eaters'
attar - `itr 'aroma'
==================================================================
B
barbican - (possibly) bâb-al-baqara 'gate with holes'
borax - bu:raq
burka - burqa`
burnouse - burnus
==================================================================
C
caliber - qali:b
calico - Qaliqu:t Calicut a city in India
caliph - khali:fah 'successor' [khalafa = to come after]
camise - qami:s 'shirt'
camphor - ka:fu:r
candy - short for 'sugar candy' [from sukkar + qandi =cane sugar]
carat - qi:ra:t or small weight
carafe - gharra:f [gharafa ='dip']
cipher - s,ifr 'empty'
coffee - qahwah
cork - qu:rq
cotton - qutn
crimson- qirmazi, from qirmiz an insect that provided the dye
==================================================================
D
dhow - da:w
dinar - di:na:r
dirham - dirham
==================================================================
E
efreet - 'ifri:t 'monster'
elixir - al-iksi:r
emir - ami:r [amara =command]
==================================================================
F
fakir - faqi:r 'poor man'
fellah - fella:h' 'husbandman'
==================================================================
G
gazelle - ghaza:l
genie - jinni: 'spirit'
ghoul - ghu:l 'demon' - [gha:la =take suddenly]
giraffe - zara:fa
==================================================================
H
halvah - h'alwa:
harem - h'aram 'prohibited, set apart' [h'arama=prohibit]
hazard - yásara 'play at dice'
henna - h'enna:`
houri - h'u:r al-`ayu:n 'with eyes like gazelles' - ==================================================================
I
imam - ima:m 'leader' [amma =precede]
Islaam - isla:m 'submission' - [aslama= submit oneself]
==================================================================
J
jar - jarrah 'large earthen vase'
jasmine - ya:smi:n
jinn - jinn 'spirits', plural of genie
==================================================================
K
Kaaba - ka`bah 'square house'
kabob - kaba:b
kismet - qisma 'portion, lot' [qasama =divide]
kohl - kohl 'kohl' [kah'ala stain, paint]
==================================================================
L
lilac - li:la:k
lemon - laymu:n
lime - li:mah 'citrus fruit'
loofah - lu:fah a plant whose pods were used as sponges
lute - al-`u:d
==================================================================
M

magazine - makha:zin 'storehouses' [khazana =store]
marzipan - mawthaba:n 'coin featuring a seated figure'
mask - perhaps maskhara 'buffoon' [sakhira =ridicule]
mattress - matrah 'place where something is thrown, mat,
minaret - mana:rah
mohair - mukhayyar 'choice (goats'-hair cloth)'[khayyara =select]
monsoon - mausim 'season'
mosque - masjid [sajada =prostration]
muezzin - mu'adhdhin 'criers' [adhana =proclaim]
mummy - mu:miya: 'embalmed body' [mu:m = (embalming) wax']
muslin - Maus,il 'Mosul'
==================================================================
N
nadir - nadi:r as-samt 'opposite the zenith'
nizam - nidaam 'government'
==================================================================
O
orange - na:ranj
ottoman - `uthma:n, a proper name
==================================================================
P

popinjay - babagha:
==================================================================
R
racket - râh'et 'palm of the hand'
ream - rizmah 'bundle'
roc - rukh
rook - rukh - from Persian
==================================================================
S
safari - safari:y 'journey' [safara =travel]
saffron - za`fara:n
Sahara - çah'ra: 'desert'
sahib - ça:h'ib 'companion'
Saracen - sharqi:yi:n 'easterners' [sha:raqa =rise]
sash - sha:sh 'muslin'
satin - probably zaytu:ni: 'of Zaytu:n' (a city in China)
sheikh - shaikh 'old man' [sha:kha =grow old]
sherbet - sharbah - shariba drink
shrub [drink] - shurb 'a drink' - shariba drink
sirocco - sharq 'east (wind)' - sha:raqa rise
sofa - s,uffah 'raised dais with cushions'
souk - su:k. 'marketplace'
spinach - isfa:na:kh
Sufi - çu:fi: 'man of wool'
sugar - sukkar
sultan - sulta:n 'sovereign'
syrup - shara:b 'beverage' - shariba drink
==================================================================
T

tabby - `atta:biy, a neighborhood in Baghdad where taffeta was made
talisman - tilsam
tamarind - tamr-hindi: 'date of India'
tambourine - a small tambour, from tanbu:r
tandoori - tannu:r 'oven'
tariff - ta`ri:f 'notification' [`arafa =notify]
==================================================================
U
ulema - `ulima: 'the learned ones' [`alama =know]
vizier - wazi:r 'porter, public servant'
==================================================================
W

Waqf - waqf 'religious foundation'
wisdom tooth - from a Latin calque on adra:su 'l h'ikmi - calqued
==================================================================
Z
zero - s,ifr 'empty'
====================================================================================
amazing isn't it!!

[source: zompist.com]